By Steve Holland and Humeyra Pamuk
WASHINGTON, May 19 (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday revealed previously undisclosed details about his new bunker-like White House ballroom, saying it would have a drone base on the roof and a military hospital as part of a six-story subterranean complex.
Amid the bang and clang of construction, Trump took a group of reporters on a tour of the project to try to bolster his argument that the U.S. Congress should allocate $1 billion to pay for security enhancements to the building.
Democrats and some Republicans are balking at the request, calling it extravagant as Americans grapple with spiraling gasoline prices and other fallout from Trump’s war on Iran ahead of November midterm elections.
Trump, a billionaire real estate developer, did not hold back in describing previously unknown details about the project, which at 90,000 square feet stands to dwarf the adjacent White House built in the late 18th century.
Trump has argued the ballroom is needed for large events of 1,000 people, far more capacity than the White House entertainment spaces can accommodate. He pressed his case for the ballroom after an apparent assassination attempt at a Washington hotel where he was attending a media gala, arguing that it would be a much more secure venue.
Trump detailed the ballroom’s security features, describing a bunker-like structure with a hardened roof able to withstand a direct attack.
He said titanium fencing recently installed around the ballroom was so strong that “a bulldozer cannot knock it over.” The roof, he said, would be constructed of “impenetrable steel.”
Beneath the ballroom, there will be a complex extending six stories deep, he said, pointing to two that were already under construction.
The underground complex would include a military hospital and research facilities, although Trump did not explain the focus of the research. The White House declined to provide further details.
He spoke excitedly about installation of a drone base on the roof “set up for unlimited numbers of drones.”
“The entire roof is built for military,” he said. “They have a massive drone capacity. Not only is it drone-proof, if a drone hits it, it bounces off, it won’t have any impact. But it’s also meant as a drone port that would protect all of Washington.”
The ballroom’s windows would be four inches thick and made from a special kind of glass.
“You can see through it as though it doesn’t exist,” he said.
(Reporting by Steve Holland and Humeyra Pamuk; Editing by Ross Colvin and Stephen Coates)
